Car roof



u I 5 l1,643991 oct. 4,1921. WVRMURPHY i cARnooF Filed Dec. e. 192s 2 sheets-shamI 2 76 ,672 37,37@ /6 *Fifi 9 1 WW??- f Mgg] Patented Oct. 4, 1927.

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1,643,991 PATENT oFFics.

'W'ALTER l?. TvURPI-IY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO P. H. MURPHY COMPANY, 0F NEW KENSINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR ROOF.

Application led- December This invention relates to flexible car roofs of the type wherein metal roof sheets are movably arranged on the roof substructure. Heretofore it has been customary in this type of roof to use wooden battens between adjacent sheets and to cover said battens and the adjacent portions of the roof sheets with seam covers. lVhile this construction of car roof is highly meritorious, the cost of such battens, which must be made of well seasoned lumber of good grade to prevent warping and. splitting, together with cost of applying said battens, makes it difficult and expensive to vassemble and repair. Accordingly, it is the principal object of the pressent invention to devise a roof construction which will have all the advantages of the above roof andwhich can be produced more cheaply. Other objects are to reduce weight, number of parts and obtain simplicity of construction and ease of assembly.

rEhe invention consists principally 1n dispensing with the wooden battens and in adapting small pieces of sheet metal to perform thel functions -thereof together with other functions. rlhe invention also consists in the parts and in the arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter' described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing', which forms part of this specification and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 isa plan view of ay portion of a flexible car roof embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view at the ridge in the region of the ridge corners of adjacent sheets, the running boards, running board saddles, center caps and seam covers being removed to disclose the ridge spacer; y

Fig. 3 is a. vertical cross section on the line 3 3 in Fig. 2; p p

Fig. l is a vertical cross section on the line el-/l in Fig.' 2; i

F ig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan View of the roof in the region of the eaves end portion of one of the transverse seams, the seam cover being shown broken away to disclose the combined sheet spacer and seam cover bracket. f

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 6 6 in Fig. 5; and

Fig.` 7 isa vertical section on line 7'-e7 in Fig. 5. I

s, 192e. serial No. 152,938.

flange by horizontal bolts 18.` Said liller strip extends longitudinally of theside plate from end to endthereof with its upper sur-v face disposed in the plane of the upper surfaces of the ridge pole l0 and the purlines 11. A beveled drain strip 14 rests on the horizontal liange of the sidev plate between the outer edges of said strip and said side plate and is disposed with its beveled surface uppermost and sloping downwardly and outwardly. A flashing strip- 14d-a is nailed or otherwise secured to the outer face of the' wooden filler strip 12 above the upper edge of the beveled drain strip 14; and the lower marginal portion of said flashing slopes downwardly and outwardly to cover the beveled drain strip vand terminates in a depending flange that overhangs the depending outer flange of the side plate.

Metal roof sheets 15 extend from eaves to ridge of the car and are supported on the ridge pole 10, purlines 11 and eaves filler strips 12. The roof sheets are arranged in alinement transversely of the car in two rows on opposite sides of the ridge, being spaced apart at their ridge ends, and the sheets on the same sides .of the ridge being spaced apartalong their adjacent side margins. The roof sheets are provided at their ridge ends with straight upstanding'midge seam flanges 16, attheir side margins with npstanding side seam flanges 1? whose upper edges are bent inwardly over the body portions of said sheets,V and at their eaves ends with depending flanges 18 that overhang the outer edges of the eaves liller strips 12 and terminate inturneddrip edgesthat are normally spaced awayfrom said strips.'k As shown in the drawing, a short eaves flashing strip 19 of angle' shaped section is placed over the outer corner of each eaves filler strip l2 and extends across the' space "between the side'iai-igesV of adjacent sheets and beneath thebodyv portionth'ereof.'

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The ridge margins of oppositely arranged sheets are loosely connected and covered by inverted channel-shaped ridge seamcovers 2l that are provided with outstanding base flanges which rest on the body portions of said sheets inside their ridge flanges. The

spaced side marginal seam flanges of adja- .as shown in the drawing, the depending end flanges 23 of the transverse seam covers tei-,

minate in inturned drip flanges which eX- tend beneath the'inturncd drip flanges of the eaves flangesof the sheets.

The adjacent ends of the ridge seam covers 21 and the transverse seam covers 22 are covered by the usual pan-shaped four-way corner or center caps 24 that are secured to the ridge pole l() by vertical bolts 24u. These bolts serve also to secure in position running board saddles 25, which extend transversely of the car at the ridge and are supported on the tops of the transverse seam covers. Runn ning boards 26 extend longitudinally of the car at the ridge and are secured to the tops of the running board saddles 25. As shown in the drawing, the ridge seam covers are of reduced width midway of their length, whereby said roof sheets are adapted to accommodate themselves to the distortions of the car body by anind-ependent sluing movement between their upstanding ridge flanges and the narrow middle portions of said ridge seam covers.

The side seam flanges 17 of adjacent sheets are spaced apart and are prevented from rubbing against the side walls of the cooperating transverse seam covers by spacers or distance members 27 and 28 located between said side seam flanges, one of said spacers being at the ridge and the other adjacent to the eaves o-f the car. Each ridge spacer 2? comprises @.pressed metal member of'substantially channelshaped section having outstanding base flanges 27a. Said spacerrests in a transverse groove 29 provided therefor in the upper surface of the ridge pole 10 and is secured thereto by vertical bolts 30. The channel-shaped ridge spacers 27 extend between the spaced side marginal flanges 17 of adjacent sheets, and the lateral base flanges 27@L of said spacers extend vbeneath body portions of said sheets and serve as supports therefor.

fach eaves spacer 28 comprises an inverted channel-shaped main body portion and a depending end wall or flange 28, The

eaves spacers are disposed with their channel-shapedl body portions between the side marginal flanges of adjacent sheets and with their depending flanges 28a disposed flatwise against the inner surface of the upstanding flanges of the side plates8 and rigidly secured thereto by the horizontal bolts 13 which secure the wooden eaves strips l2 to said side plates.

lt is rnoted that the width of the channelshaped body spacers 27V and 28, respectively, is such that said spacers permit limited movement of the side marginal flanges of the sheets in directions transverse thereto and toy the transverse seam coverswhen the sheetsvslue or rock on the ridge seam' covers when the car frame distorts in service; and they also serve abutments to prevent said side marginal flange from strikingv said seam covers and thus causing the flanges or covers to become damaged.

The transverse seam covers are rigidly secured to the car at points adjacent tol their eaves ends by means of fastening members in the form of shoulder bolts 3l thatare permanently secured to the tops of said seam covers and are detachably secured to the eaves spacers. The upper ends of said bolts are riveted to the top of the seam covers and are formed with collars 32 that bear against the under surface of said covers and have threaded lower end portions which extend through holes provided therefor in the tops of the channel-shaped body portions of the caves spacers and are provided with nuts which serve to clamp the collars of said belts down on the tops of said eaves spacers. An important advantage of the foregoing roof construction is that it dispenses with the use of the wooden battens, which are expensive and difficult to malte and apply. Another advantage is that the eaves spacers serve not only las abutments and spacers for the eaves ends of the sheets, but they also serve to rigidly secure the eaves ends of the transverse seam covers to the car. therebyy dispensing with the need for sepa rate fastening members er brackets and thus saving the cost thereof. Other advantages of said construction are that the metal spacers can be pressed from scraps of metal provided in the manufacture of roof sheets and seam covers which scraps have heretofore been wasted. Said spacers are of less weight than the wooden battens and can be more easily handled and applied.

Obviously, the arrangement hereinbefore described admitsy of considerable modification without departing from the invention; therefordl do not wish to be limited to the precise arrangements shown and described.

What I claim is: l. A flexible car roof comprising movably arrangedv roof sheets spaced apart along portions of the ridge and eaves (lll their adjacent margins, a seam cover covering` the spaced margins of adjacent sheets, and sheet spacers secured to the car between the spaced margins of adjacent sheets, and spaced apart longitudinally thereof, said seam cover' being rigidly secured to some of said spacers independently of' the securing means therefor. I

2. A flexible car roof comprising roof sheets arranged transversely of the car and spaced apart along their adjacent side margins, a seam cover covering adjacent margins of' said sheets, and sheet metal spacers secured to the car at the ridge and adjacent to the eaves betweenthe spaced margins of adjacent sheets, said spacers being of less width than the spaces between the sheets, the spacers located adjacent to the eaves of the car being rigidly secured to said seam cover for holding it in place at the eaves.

3..A flexible car roof comprising a roof substructure including side plates, roof sheets movably arranged on said substructure, said roof sheets being spaced apart along their adjacent side margins and having upstanding scam flanges along said margins, a seam cover straddling the up` standing side seam flanges of adjacent sheets, and metal spacers located between the upstanding side seam flanges of adjacent sheets at the ridge and'adjacent to the eaves, the eaves spacers comprising an inverted channel-shaped body portion located between the marginal flanges of adjacent sheets and rigidly secured to the tops of' said seam covers and a depending end portion rigidly secured to an adjacent side plate.

el. A flexible car roof comprising a roof substructure including side plates and a ridge pole, roof sheets movably arranged on said substructure said roof sheets beine spaced apart along their adjacent side inargins and having upstanding seam flanges along said margins, a seam cover straddling the upstanding side seam flanges of adjacent sheets, and metal spacers located adjacent to the ridge and eaves of the car between the npstanding side seam flanges of adjacent sheets, eacli of said eaves spacers comprising an inverted channel-shaped body vportion located between the side marginal flanges of adjacent sheets and rigidly secured to the tops of said seam covers and a depending end flange rigidly secured to an adjacent side prising an inverted channel-shaped member' supported on and rigidly secured to the .ridge pole between the side seam flanges of adjacent sheets. i

5. A flexible car root' comprising a roof substructure including side plates and a ridge pole, roof sheets inovably arrangedon said substructure, said roof sheets being spaced apart along their adjacent margins and having upstanding seam flanges along said margins, a seam cover straddling the upstanding seam flanges of adjacent sheets, and metal spacers located at the ridge and adjacent to the eaves between the upstanding side sea-rn flanges of adjacent sheets, said spacers Vcomprising an inverted channelshaped body portion located between the side marginal flanges 0f adjacent sheets and rigidly secured to the tops of said seam cover and a depending end flange rigidly secured to an adjacent side plate, and each of said ridge spacers comprising an invertedv channel-shaped body'portion disposed between the side seam flanges of adjacent sheets and outstanding base flanges that extend beneath body portions of said sheets and are.

rigidly secured to said ridge pole.

6. A flexible car roof comprising roof sheets extending from eaves to ridge and spaced apart along their adjacent side and ridge margins, seam covers covering said margins, and spacers rigidly secured to the car at the ridge and adjacent to the eaves, said spacers having channel-shaped body portions located in the spaces between the side marginal flanges of adjacent sheets, the eaves spacers being rigidly secured to the side seam covers.

7. A flexible car roof comprising roof sheets extending from eaves to ridge and spaced apart along their adjacent margins, seam covers covering said margins, and spacers secured to the car at the ridge and adjacent to the eaves, each of said spacers having a channel-shaped body portion lo'- cated in the spaces between said sheets, the' eaves spacers being rigidly secured to said seam cover, and said ridge spacers having outstanding base flanges at the lower edges of their side Walls that extend beneath the body portions of adjacent sheets.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 2nd day of December, 1926.

' WALTER P. MURPHY.

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